The offer provides home delivery of medicines for the continuous use of basic care standardized in the Blumenau Public Health Network – Photo: Disclosure

More than 1,000 patients of the Joint Health System (SUS) in Blumenau have benefited from the Home Remedies Program (PRC). Since 2015, the initiative has been led by the municipal government through the Department of Health Promotion (Semus) to ensure users have access to medicines, improve treatment adherence and clinical follow-up.

The offer carries out home delivery of medicines for permanent use as part of the basic care standardized in the Blumenau public health network. The program was designed to take into account the importance of caregiving activities and access to medicines in order to ensure frequent medical team assistance to registered patients.

Marcelo Lanzarin, Secretary of Health Promotion, believes that such initiatives ensure the effectiveness of public health policies, leading to greater social inclusion. “Non-adherence to the treatment regimen directly affects the increase in the number of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, very complex procedures, which, therefore, entail additional costs for the healthcare system,” he estimates.

Lanzarin notes that the goal of the Home Remedy program is to improve the quality of life for residents. “We are already a municipality recognized nationally for the longevity of its population, and actions like this confirm our commitment by guaranteeing the effectiveness of the treatment of registered patients,” concludes the Minister for Health Promotion.

Find out who is eligible for PRC

To take advantage of the Remedy at Home program, the patient must be a resident of Blumenau, be registered with a healthcare facility in the municipality (General Family Outpatient Clinics – AGF or Family Health Strategy Units – ESF) and receive care locally. In addition, it is necessary to use primary health care drugs for permanent use that are listed in the PRC, be bedridden, in a restricted setting (permanently or immobilized in bed and need constant care), or be in a wheelchair.

A patient of the initiative, Adelia Wilhelm, justifies the need for the program because, although she uses a prosthesis to amputate one leg, it is difficult for her to move to the infirmary. “Therefore, I consider it very important to receive medicine at home every month. The team comes and brings the medicines I need,” he says.

The mother of Jackson Probst’s patient, Ana Maria, provides daily support to her son, who is in constant need of care. That’s why she insists on not leaving the boy. “Since he had an accident 15 years ago, I have been taking care of him, so it is very important to get medicine at home,” he says.

Enrollment in China

Enrollment in the Home Medicine Program begins at a healthcare facility and can be completed by a patient’s family member or caregiver. The next step for the health team is to visit the user to confirm if they can join the program. If so, a medical prescription is issued and membership in the PRC is signed.

Documents are sent to the home medicine center, where medicines are distributed in individual kits. From there, they are sent directly to the patient’s place of residence or to the first-aid post, where they are registered. In the latter case, the department team is responsible for delivering the medicine to the patient’s home.

The Medicines at Home program is structured as a Single Storage and Distribution Center (CIAD) where a professional pharmacist checks medicines, which are separated for each of the registrants. The boxes are then sent to the healthcare facilities responsible for patients once a month, individualized, sealed and named.

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